


Cold

by arenee1999



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-27
Updated: 2008-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-03 00:31:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/375076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arenee1999/pseuds/arenee1999
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blake and Avon are stranded on a planet overnight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cold

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place after episode 1.10 (Breakdown) and before episode 1.12 (Deliverance).
> 
> Beta-ed by entropy_house. All mistakes are my own. Thank you to linda_joyce for her input as well.

"Come in, Liberator. Jenna, are you there?"  
  
Avon sighed in annoyance. "Blake, they must have moved off station. Hopefully they'll be back soon. It'll be dark in a couple hours and the temperature on this planet drops to well below freezing at night."  
  
"Well, we're about ten miles from the compound, and the Federation guards will be too busy to send out patrols. The trees should give us enough cover if anyone does happen by."  
  
"Yes, well, we need to find shelter and quickly. We only have about an hour and a half before the night animals start hunting."  
  
"The Liberator should be back by then."  
  
"That kind of optimism will get you killed. We can cover more ground if we split up, you go that way and I'll take this way."  
  
Blake watched Avon disappear into the trees before he set off on his own search. He wasn't sure what Avon expected them to find. As far as he could tell people stayed well away from these woods, that's why he chose them for their hiding place.  
  
***  
  
Avon looked around and pointed to a building a few yards away. "Over there, that's the substation. If everything goes smoothly It should take about 45 minutes."  
  
"Jenna, it's Blake. We're down and safe. We should be ready to go in about 45 minutes."  
  
"All right. Be careful, Blake."  
  
Blake turned around just as Avon pulled open the door. The lights came on as they stepped inside. Avon held up a hand to prevent Blake from going further into the room. "I have to bypass the security first. Stay on this step until I tell you otherwise."  
  
As Blake watched Avon work he wondered what it would be like to have Avon's full attention focused on him.  
  
"Blake! Pay attention."  
  
"Sorry, what do you need?"  
  
"Watch the security monitors. We don't want any unexpected visitors"  
  
Blake walked across the room and sat down in front of the monitors. "There are four monitors; it looks like two of them show the area surrounding the substation and the other two show the compound itself."  
  
"Good, watch the area around us. Oh, those controls in front of you are for the surveillance system, you can use them but don't touch anything else." Avon laid out his tools and concentrated on his work.  
  
"There, that should do it." Blake jumped at the sound of Avon's voice. It had been quiet in the room for the past forty minutes with neither of them talking. "If Cally and Vila do their job properly we'll see the results on the monitors in just a few moments."  
  
"Yes, there. The locals are swarming the compound. It worked."  
  
"Of course it worked; now, let's get out of here. Jenna, we're ready for teleport. Jenna, come in."  
  
"Come in, Liberator. Jenna! Gan!"  
  
"Come on Blake, we need to get out of here. There may still be guards in the area. We can try to contact them again once we're away."  
  
"The forest is about a mile south of us. We can take cover in there."  
  
***  
  
Avon heard the teleport bracelet’s communicator chime. "What is it, Blake?"  
  
"I think I've found something. There's a small clearing with a primitive cabin of some sort."  
  
"I'm on my way." Avon turned and began jogging toward Blake. It was getting dark and the temperature was falling rapidly.  
  
Avon entered the clearing and found Blake sitting on a bench in front of a small wooden cabin.  
  
"There's not much inside, it looks like it's been abandoned or at least very rarely used."  
  
"We should be safe enough then."  
  
Avon stepped into the cabin and looked around. It was one room and not very large. There was a fireplace on the right wall the back wall had a long counter with cupboards above and below. Against the left wall was a bed with two rows of drawers underneath; in the center of the room was a table with three chairs. Avon turned towards the door as Blake came in behind him.  
  
"I found a woodpile behind the house and there's a stream on the other side of the clearing. We should search the cupboards and drawers for anything that could be useful."  
  
"All right, I'll start with the cupboards, you can check the bed." Avon walked to the back of the cabin and started searching. He found a tin of what looked like tea and a four tea mugs. Under the counter were two pails and some crude matches. Piling everything on the counter he turned to see how Blake was doing. "Have you found anything useful?"  
  
"The bed is filthy, but there are four blankets in the drawers."  
  
"We'll have to sleep on the floor then. We should bring in some wood and fill one of these pails with water before it gets dark."  
  
"Fine, you can get the water. I'll start bringing in the wood."  
  
Blake watched Avon grab a pail and leave the cabin. He shook his head at the look of annoyance that had been on the other man's face. He walked to the woodpile wondering how they were going to get through the night. The two of them could never spend more than a few minutes together without arguing. He finished piling the wood near the fireplace and went to the bed to pull the blankets out of the drawers as Avon walked in and set the pail of water on the table. He set the blankets on the table next to the water and looked at Avon, wishing he knew what Avon was thinking.  
  
Avon walked to the counter and picked up the matches. "I'll start a fire." He piled the wood in the fireplace and tossed some twigs and dry grass in to use as kindling. Using the matches he got the fire started, he placed the pail of water close to the fire so it would heat then he sat down and watched the fire. He was doing his best to ignore Blake and give himself time to think. He must have zoned out for a few minutes; the sound of Blake's rather insistent voice broke through his thoughts.  
  
"Avon... Avon!"  
  
Avon looked up sharply. "What?"  
  
"What's wrong? You don't seem like yourself."  
  
"I'm fine, just a bit cold."  
  
Blake reached out and touched Avon's hand. "You're freezing, Avon!"  
  
Avon watched Blake reach for the blankets and spread two of them on the floor in front of the fire. He sighed and took off his jacket and shoes. Knowing Blake was worried about the rest of the crew and needed someone to take care of, he sat on the blankets and let Blake drape the other two around him without argument. He watched Blake stand up and walk to the window.  
  
Blake stood staring out the window, thinking and worrying. _Avon isn't acting like himself, he's being much too accommodating. Jenna and Gan are obviously in trouble on the Liberator. Cally and Vila are stuck on the planet somewhere inside the main Federation compound. Of course, if our plan worked, the local resistance force will be in control of the compound by now. So hopefully, Cally and Vila are safe. That still leaves Jenna and Gan unaccounted for, and Avon...well I don't know how Avon and I are going to make it through the night without wanting to kill each other. If only Avon would let his guard down a bit maybe we could, at least, be friends._ Blake felt a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Come sit down and I'll tell you why I don't let anyone in."  
  
Blake looked at Avon in surprise. "Did I say that out loud?"  
  
Avon smiled. "You've been talking out loud since you came over here."  
  
Avon led Blake over to the blankets. "Take off your jacket and shoes, you'll be more comfortable."  
  
Avon laid down on his side with his back to the fire and pulled the blankets over himself. He watched Blake kneel down on the blankets and hesitate. "Well...get under the blankets before you freeze."  
  
Blake crawled under the blankets and laid on his side facing Avon. "Why Avon, why now?"  
  
"We could be really good together, Blake."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Do you want to hear this? If so, stop talking."  
  
Blake chuckled at that and nodded for Avon to continue.  
  
"I was in love once. She was beautiful, funny and an idealist. I seem to have a soft spot for them. Anyway, I've not let anyone get close to me since. My emotions cloud my thinking and my judgment, so I keep them tightly controlled. I never expected to fall in love again, I didn't think I could love anyone else. Not after her......after what happened to her."  
  
Avon watched Blake’s face, his emotion giving away what he was thinking. It was fascinating to watch. Pained sympathy gave way to confusion and then concentration. He saw Blake's eyes widen in surprise the moment he pieced everything together.  
  
"I see you've worked it out."  
  
"Yes, I believe I even know why you didn't just tell me. Although I still want to know, why now?"  
  
"Would you accept curiosity?"  
  
"No."  
  
"No, I didn't think so. That is part of it though, I was curious."  
  
"There's another reason though, isn't there? You were going to stay here, weren't you? If I hadn't responded well or if I had ignored the clues altogether, you would have let me fall asleep and then you would have left."  
  
"Yes, I'd reached a point where I could no longer follow you without you knowing why, and accepting why, I followed you. Now Blake, I must warn you. If you try to use my emotions against me, in any way, the consequences will be disastrous for both of us."  
  
Blake leaned forward and lightly brushed his lips across Avon's. Avon placed his hand on Blake's chest and pulled back far enough to look him in the eyes.  
  
"This is hardly the time or place for this Blake. We're in a cold cabin on a hard floor waiting to be rescued."  
  
"This is the perfect place. We're alone in front of a fire, what could be better than that?"  
  
"Of course, I should have realized. You're a romantic. In that case remove your teleport bracelet. Your crew has the remarkable talent of picking the worst possible time to show up. I have no desire to be teleported in the middle of...well, what ever this turns into."  
  
Blake took his bracelet off and handed it to Avon. Avon placed both bracelets on the floor next to their gun belts.  
  
"Will you let me kiss you now?"  
  
"No, but I'll kiss you."  
  
Blake laughed. "Must you always be in control?"  
  
"Whenever possible." Avon brushed his lips across Blake's. He gently nibbled on Blake's lower lip then ran his tongue across it. Blake parted his lips and Avon took full advantage of it, capturing Blake's mouth in a rather frantic kiss. Avon wrapped his arms around Blake's shoulders and pulled him closer, he felt Blake's hands slide under his shirt and he moaned.  
  
Blake slid his hands under Avon's shirt and up his back, he moaned in pleasure when his hands touched bare skin. He felt Avon tremble lightly and he, somewhat reluctantly, broke the kiss. "Avon, you're still cold."  
  
"Yes, I don't adjust to cold weather very well."  
  
"Maybe you were right, this isn't the best place for this. We're not exactly comfortable, or warm."  
  
"Now you decide to be sensible! All right, fold up our jackets and wrap them in one of the blankets. We can use it as a pillow. I'll put more wood on the fire"  
  
Blake followed Avon's instructions, then placed the make-shift pillow as near to the fire as he dared. He laid down on his side facing the fire and pulled Avon down next to him.  
  
"Lay down against me, facing the fire." Blake wrapped his arms around Avon and laid his cheek against Avon's hair.  
  
"Avon...Kerr," Blake felt Avon stiffen at the sound of his name. "Thank you, for trusting me."  
  
Avon relaxed and brought Blake’s hand to his mouth. He carefully kissed Blake's fingers then released his hand.  
  
***  
  
Avon's eyes snapped open and he reached for one of the guns. He wasn't sure what had awakened him; Blake was laying next to him and the cabin was quiet. He had felt Blake get up a few times during the night, somehow instinctively aware that Blake was no longer beside him, so he wasn't surprised to see the fire going strong. It had only been about an hour since Blake had come back to bed the last time. He felt Blake stir beside him.  
  
"What is it, Avon?"  
  
"Shhh, I'm not sure. I think there's somebody outside."  
  
Blake wrapped one arm around Avon's waist and grabbed the second gun. They heard a light scraping sound and they both trained their guns on the door. The door opened and Vila stepped into the cabin.  
  
"Damn it, Vila, you're lucky I didn't shoot you," Avon hissed.  
  
Vila took in the scene before him and his mouth dropped open in shock.  
  
"Well, don't just stand there, come in and close the door, you're letting in the cold."  
  
"Where's Cally? And how did you find us?" Blake asked.  
  
Blake's voice broke through Vila's shock.  
  
"Huh? Oh, sorry." Vila pushed the door closed. "Cally is still at the compound, she sent me out to find you. We were going to wait till morning, she figured once it was light again you'd start making your way to the compound."  
  
"She was right. So what happened, why did she send you out to find us now?" Avon asked.  
  
Vila turned to Avon, answering his question. "We picked up the Liberator on the long-range orbital scanners, but we can't get through on the communications channels."  
  
"How long before the ship reaches orbit?"  
  
"Unless she picks up speed, our best guess is about 3 hours."  
  
"Well, in that case we'll wait until it gets light before we leave."  
  
"Avon." Blake interrupted.  
  
"Listen Blake, there's nothing we can do until the ship reaches orbit or we can contact it. It will be light in just under two hours, we can wait that long."  
  
"Are you sure there's nothing you can do?"  
  
Avon sighed and reached for one of the teleport bracelets. "I need more information." He pressed the communications button on the bracelet.  
  
"Yes Vila, what is it?"  
  
"Cally, it's Avon. Have you been able to get through to the Liberator yet?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Keep trying. Has she picked up speed?"  
  
"No, she's been moving at standard speed since we picked her up on the scanners."  
  
"She's obviously sustained damage. If she picks up speed or contacts you, let me know. Otherwise we'll wait until it's light before we start for the compound." Avon set the bracelet aside. "Are you satisfied, Blake? There's nothing more I can do right now."  
  
"Fine, what do we do in the meantime?"  
  
"I choose sleep."  
  
Avon rolled his eyes. "Of course you do, Vila."  
  
Blake watched Vila walk towards the bed, "Vila, come lay down over here. The bed is filthy."  
  
"It's not so bad, I've slept in worse."  
  
"In that case, you're welcome to it."  
  
"Avon! The bed is disgusting and we have all the blankets. Vila, come over here."  
  
Vila's eyes locked on to Avon's and he visibly paled. Avon narrowed his eyes and sighed. Not wanting to deal with Vila, he put on his shoes and left the cabin. The cold air hit him hard and he staggered for a moment, then righted himself and leaned against a tree. He looked up as the cabin door opened and Blake came out, carrying Vila's jacket.  
  
"Put this on, it's freezing out here."  
  
Avon took the jacket and pulled it on. "Thank you." He leaned back against the tree, closed his eyes and tried to think. He was finding it difficult to think about anything except the feel of Blake's hands on his skin. His body and mind were waging a war inside him. His mind demanding he remain in control, while his body was screaming at him to submit. He caught his breath as he felt Blake's hand brush lightly against his cheek and down his jaw. He opened his eyes and placed his hands on Blake's chest. He trembled slightly and felt Blake's arms wrap around his shoulders. He sighed. "Blake." He felt Blake's breath on his neck and heard him whisper against his ear.  
  
"I need to touch you; to hold you. Just for a minute."  
  
Avon laid his head against Blake's shoulder and let out a quiet sob. He felt Blake's arms tighten around him, holding him close. Then a moment later he felt Blake release him and step back extending a hand toward him.  
  
"Are you ready to go back in then? We don't need you to get cold again, Vila has all the blankets."  
  
Avon smiled and took Blake's hand.  
  
***  
  
"Vila wake up, it's light out. We need to leave now."  
  
Vila mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over. Avon sighed in frustration, "Vila! wake up!"  
  
"All right, all right, there's no need to shout."  
  
"There's tea on the table."  
  
Vila looked around the room, "Where's Blake?"  
  
"He's outside."  
  
Avon unwrapped the jackets from the blanket and after pulling off Vila's jacket and tossing it at him, he pulled on his own then put on his weapon belt and teleport bracelet. He laid Blake's jacket on the table and tossed dirt on the already dying fire. He turned toward Vila and grabbed Blake's jacket. "Lets go, Blake's getting impatient."  
  
They all climbed into the air shuttle and ten minutes later they arrived in the heart of the compound.  
  
"The control room is this way. Cally should be waiting for us."  
  
Inside the control room they found controlled chaos. There were too many people packed into the very small room. Avon let Blake take charge and a few moments later the room began to clear out.  
  
"Blake, the Liberator will be in orbit in about fifteen minutes, we've tried contacting it every half hour but we haven't had any luck."  
  
"Thank you Cally. We're going to need a shuttle, and a pilot to take us up."  
  
"All right, I'll take care of it."  
  
Blake turned to Avon, "Avon, once we've docked with the Liberator will you be able to get the airlock open?"  
  
"Yes. However, Vila will probably be able to do it faster."  
  
"Fine, let's go."  
  
***  
  
"We're locked on and sealed, the airlock has been pressurized."  
  
Avon double-checked the controls, "Good, let's go."  
  
They entered they airlock and waited for the door to close behind them. They held their breath as Vila stepped up to the door leading into the Liberator. A moment later the door opened and they stepped onto their ship. Blake tried the communicator just inside the door. "Nothing, the entire communications system must be down. Let's go to the flight deck. Cally, try to reach Jenna and Gan telepathically. Tell them to meet us on the flight deck. If they don't show up we'll search the ship."  
  
 _Jenna, we're on board the ship meet us on the flight deck. Gan, come to the flight deck._  
  
They heard someone running and turned to see Jenna and Gan coming towards them. "Jenna, Gan, are you all right?" Blake asked.  
  
"We're fine, the Liberator is in bad shape though. The auto repair systems are working, but there's so much damage that it's taking a very long time." Gan replied.  
  
"What happened?" Avon asked.  
  
Jenna turned toward Avon. "We were attacked by pursuit ships. We ran but we couldn't get away before they hit us. We took several direct hits before we were able to get away from them."  
  
Avon looked at the control panel closest to him then turned to Jenna. "What's damaged and what have the auto repair systems managed to fix?"  
  
"The only thing not damaged is navigation. The auto repair systems fixed the damage to our life support, other than that I'm not sure."  
  
"All right, we need communications restored and since it's not a vital function the auto repair won't get to it for a while so I'll start with that."  
  
"I'll help Avon. I suggest everyone else get some sleep, you're all exhausted."  
  
Jenna turned to Blake. "But Blake, there's too much to do."  
  
Avon sighed. "Blake is right. You are all exhausted. If you try to do anything right now you'll mess it up and I'll just have to go back and fix it later."  
  
Blake waited until everyone left then he turned to Avon. "How long will it take to get basic communications working?"  
  
"I can have the on-board communications and our sub-beam system working in about an hour, why?"  
  
Blake walked over and captured Avon's mouth in a quick kiss. "Because I'm tired and I don't want to go to bed with out you."  
  
  
~fin~


End file.
